Stop Measuring Developer Productivity…Do This Instead
Measuring productivity starts with the foundation of trust and flow
We know the importance of foundations when we see it. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the most visible and famous of examples. The foundation of the tower was laid in 1173 and construction stopped in 1178 when the tower began to sink. It took two more stages and some engineering hacks to erect the rest of the tower and complete it by 1372.
You may have thought we would have learned our lessons about building on soft earth in the modern era. The Millennium Tower, a high-rise luxury residential building in San Francisco next to the Salesforce Tower, became subject of a lawsuit and a $100 million retrofit to fix a 14 inch lean caused by settling due to a weak foundation.
Building on the right foundation is everything. Foundations sit below the ground however, so we never see the value of a strong foundation. We only see the consequences when things go wrong.
The important thing is that you’ve got a strong foundation before you start to try to save the world or help other people.
- Richard Branson
